Jaylyn Aminu was a cheerleader last year who knew she was fast but not, as she said, "states fast." A year later, even when she wins three golds, the Liberty sophomore still can't believe it.

Aminu swept the 100- and 200-meter sprints and propelled Liberty's 400 relay team to gold Wednesday at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference track & field championships. Her performance helped Liberty to a second-place finish behind Stroudsburg (by a half-point) at the two-day meet at Whitehall.

"Trying harder in practices makes my teammates try harder to beat me, so all of our times drop in practice," Jaylyn Aminu said. "That made our team really good this year."

In the boys competition, Easton's Colin Abert ran Pennsylvania's fastest time this year in the 1,600, while Stroudsburg and Pleasant Valley tied for the inaugural EPC team title. Bethlehem Catholic's Freddie Simmons swept the boys hurdles to kick off his senior-year pursuit of state gold.

After stepping off the podium with a 200-meter gold, Jaylyn Aminu, a sophomore, was met by sister Jazmyn, who won the discus.

"She wins everything," Jazmyn said of her younger sister, who didn't expect to be this successful.

Day two of the Colonial League and Lehigh Valley Conference Boys and Girls Track Championships at Whitehall High School.

(Emily Paine)

Last year Jaylyn Aminu was a fast but intimidated freshman, particularly when the postseason meets began. Winning the 100 at leagues and placing seventh at states gave her a measure of confidence.

"I was very scared then," Jaylyn said. "I was nervous all day in school, stressing out and shaking. When I actually won, I didn't even know. My friends told me. I'm more used to it this year."

Which has shown on the track. Jaylyn won the 100 in 12.24 seconds and the 200 in 25.54. Both times were about a half-second faster than the competition. No wonder, then, that Jaylyn gave up cheerleading for track.

"It's still overwhelming," she said. "I just can't believe I can run this fast."

The Liberty and Stroudsburg girls staged quite a duel in the team competition, with the result coming down to the pole vault, the meet's final event. Though Liberty placed two vaulters in the top three, Stroudsburg held on for a 137.5-137 victory. The two teams tied for the regular-season title.

Abert, the area's top distance runner of the past few years, doesn't set many personal records anymore. Perhaps that's why the Easton senior exclaimed "That's amazing!" when told his winning 1,600 time was the fastest recorded in Pennsylvania this season.

Abert ran a personal-best time of 4:14.56 to win the race by more than nine seconds. According to the website http://www.pa.milesplit.com, Abert's time is the state's best by more than a second. Abert also won the 3,200 on Tuesday.

Before Wednesday, Colin Abert figured he might be running the 1,600 for the last time in high school. He intended to concentrate on the 3,200 — until going below 4:15 in the race for the first time.

Last year, Abert won District 11 titles in both events and competed in the 1,600 at states, finishing fifth. He has made firm plans to cut back to one event before districts to pursue a state title.

Wednesday's race might have clouded the choice.

"If this was my last 1,600, I wanted to go out with a bang," Abert said. "… But I didn't expect to run like this. Now, I might have a decision to make."

Easton's Diana Hammerstone won her first league-meet gold medal, giving her team a 1,600 sweep (5:05.41). She said a strong push through the third lap was the key to her five-second victory.

Hammerstone, a junior, kind of surprised herself in the mile, an event she didn't run much last year, when she concentrated on the 3,200. This year has been the opposite: Hammerstone saved the 3,200 for occasional dual meets, choosing instead to focus on the 1,600.

"I've grown to like this race more than I thought," Hammerstone said.

In the boys meet, Pleasant Valley swept the top three spots in the long jump, won by Nyiem Nevarez, and also got a gold medal from Khai Samuels in the 800. Michael Marsack won the javelin for Stroudsburg.

In the girls meet, Dieruff's Mahendra McWhite won the 100 hurdles for her second gold medal. Aspen Gaita helped Stroudsburg to the team title by winning the triple jump, and Easton won gold medals in the 400 (Morgan McDonald) and pole vault (Greer Gumbrecht).

Pleasant Valley's Jennifer Mickens won the 800, and Whitehall's Ivana Jones won the high jump.

The District 11 championships are scheduled for May 12-13 at Whitehall.